preliminary project scope statement into the project scope statement.

The project scope statement content will vary depending upon the

application area and complexity of the project. During subsequent

phases of multi-phase projects the Preliminary Project Scope Statement

process validates and refines, if required, the project scope defined for

that phase.

The preparation of a detailed project scope statement is critical to

project success and builds upon the major deliverables, assumptions,

and constraints that are documented during project initiation in the

preliminary project scope statement. During planning, the project scope

is defined and described with greater specificity because more

information about the project is known.

Stakeholder needs, wants, and expectations are analyzed and converted

into requirements. The assumptions and constraints are analyzed for

completeness, with additional assumptions and constraints added as

necessary. The project team and other stakeholders, who have

additional insight into the preliminary project scope statement, can

perform and prepare the analyses.

Defining what project scope means is critical. We have all been in the

meetings where two or three people leave with different impressions of

the discussion. Creating a project scope statement is a key way to

ensure everyone is on the same page. The Project Scope Statement

defines the project scope and what needs to be accomplished to meet

the project’s objectives.

The five inputs to defining project scope are:

Organizational process assets provide information about

standards that the company has already set in place—standards

that are likely to be applied to every project. This information

is re-used when creating the Project Scope Statement.

The project charter authorizes the existence of the project. It

outlines the project objectives, which project managers need to

detail further in the Project Scope Statement.

The Preliminary Project Scope Statement provides a

description of the major project deliverables, project objectives,

project assumptions, project constraints, and a statement of

work.

The Project Scope Management Plan provides a description of

how the stated project objectives will be developed within the

detailed Project Scope Statement.

Change request which are agreed-upon and documented

amendments to project scope. Approved change requests will

ultimately be added to the Project Scope Statement.

The project scope statement describes, in detail, the project’s

deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables. The

project scope statement also provides a common understanding of the

project scope among all project stakeholders and describes the project’s

major objectives. It also enables the project team to perform more

detailed planning, guides the project team’s work during execution, and

provides the baseline for evaluating whether requests for changes or

additional work are contained within or outside the project’s

boundaries.

The degree and level of detail to which the project scope statement

defines what work will be performed and what work is excluded

can determine how well the project management team can control

the overall project scope. Managing the project scope, in turn, can

determine how well the project management team can plan,

manage, and control the execution of the project.

The detailed project scope statement includes, either directly or by

reference to other documents:

Project Objectives: Project objectives include the measurable

success criteria of the project. Projects may have a wide variety

of business, cost, schedule, technical, and quality objectives.

Project objectives can also include cost, schedule, and quality

targets.

Project Constraints:

Lists and describes the specific project constraints associated

with the project scope that limits the team’s options. For

example, a predefined budget or any imposed dates (schedule

milestones) that are issued by the customer or performing

organization are included. When a project is performed under

contract, contractual provisions will generally be constraints.

The constraints listed in the detailed project scope statement

are typically more numerous and more detailed than the

constraints listed in the project charter.

Fund Limitation:188

Describes any limitation placed upon funding for the project,

whether in total value or over specified time frames.

Cost Estimate:

The project’s cost estimate factors into the project’s expected

overall cost, and is usually preceded by a modifier that

provides some indication of accuracy, such as conceptual or

definitive.

Project Configuration Management Requirements:

It describes the level of configuration management and change

control to be implemented on the project.

Project Specifications:

Identifies those specification documents with which the project

should comply.

Requested changes to the project management plan and its

subsidiary plans may be developed during the Scope Definition

process. Requested changes are processed for review and

disposition through the Integrated Change Control process.

The project scope management plan component of the project

management plan may need to be updated to include approved

change requests resulting from the project’s Scope Definition

process.

This process is carried out whenever one or more deliverables are ready to be handed

over. It consists of obtaining the stakeholders’ formal acceptance of the work

completed.

Verifying the project scope includes reviewing deliverables to ensure that each is

completed satisfactorily. If the project is terminated early, the project scope verification

process should establish and document the level and extent of completion. Scope

verification differs from quality control in that scope verification is primarily concerned

with acceptance of the deliverables, while quality control is primarily concerned with

meeting the quality requirements specified for the deliverables. Quality control is

generally performed before scope verification, but these two processes can be

performed in parallel.

The scope changes that usually cause problems are those where the perception of what

was in and out of scope was different between various parties. The Project Manager

assumed there would only be four or five reports, and the business assumed ten to

twenty. Nobody felt it was worth talking about because they assumed the other person

thought the same way they did.

The scope management section of the project plan is a formalized document that

captures the processes for handling Scope Changes. The last output of scope

management is that of “Scope Control”. The project manager should implement a

process to ensure the project’s goals and objectives will be monitored throughout the

project.

The project manager must be made aware of any discrepancies of project activities or

potential risks promptly that deviate from the baseline or work breakdown schedule, in

order to minimize any delays to the schedule which can ultimately cause project failure.

It is the project manager’s responsibility to provide guidance for any corrective action

and means of communications to all team members involved at any level of the project.

With adequate scope control mechanisms executed, the team’s progress and

performance can be measured. This will resolve any potential issues to the schedule and

decrease resource conflicts.

Project scope control is concerned with influencing the factors that create project scope

changes and controlling the impact of those changes. Scope control assures all

requested changes and recommended corrective actions are processed through the

project Integrated Change Control process.

Project scope control is also used to manage the actual changes when they occur and is

integrated with the other control processes. Uncontrolled changes are often referred to

as project scope creep. Change is inevitable, thereby mandating some type of change

control process.

Scope creep (as already discussed) is a term which refers to the creeping forward of the

scope of a project. It sometimes causes cost overrun. It is a term which refers to the

incremental expansion of the scope of a project, which may include and introduce more

requirements that may not have been a part of the initial planning of the project.

There are two distinct ways to separate scope creep management, the first is business

scope creep, and the second is called features (also technology) scope creep. The type

of scope creep management is nearly always dependent upon on the people who create

the changes.

Business scope creep management occurs when decisions that are made with reference

to a project are designed to solve or meet the requirements and needs of the business.

Business scope creep changes may be a result of poor requirements definition early in

development, or the failure to include the users of the project until the later stage of the

systems development life cycle.

The type of scope creep management is always dependent upon on the people who

create the changes.

Scope creep management is significant in many organizations all around the world, as

many projects that an organization will set out on have a project scope. Since projects

are expected to have strict deadlines with time, budget and quality restraints, the effect

of a change in the scope can ultimately affect the success of the project.

If the approved change requests have an effect upon the project scope, then the project

scope statement is revised and reissued to reflect the approved changes. The updated

project scope statement becomes the new project scope baseline for future changes.

The scope management plan is a formal document that explains how the project scope

will be managed and how scope changes will be factored into the project plan.

Once the scope is developed, the elements are thoroughly discussed and agreed on by

the project team, stakeholders, sponsors and customers. Then scope definition is signedoff

formally and the changes are discussed thoroughly by the project manager. With

“acceptance/signed scope approval” project manager responds to ensure complete and

monitored processing. Also, the customers are being noticed for every change to avoid

project creep and risks.